Computer storage system incorporating on-board EEPROMS containing product data

ABSTRACT

A computer storage system includes director boards which control transfer of data to and between a host computer, a system cache memory and a disk array. The directors are provided with features which enhance system performance and reliability. A hardware emulation controller permits a high performance processor to be used with existing system circuitry. A control store memory is organized with primary and secondary data areas and primary and secondary parity areas. Data is written to both the primary and secondary areas. A read request accesses data in the primary area and performs a retry in the secondary area in the event of a parity error. A power supply system includes on-board marginable power supplies to facilitate testing and power-up by-pass circuits for protection of sensitive circuitry. A system clock configuration employs primary and secondary clocks to ensure redundancy of synchronized timekeeping.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to computer storage systems and, moreparticularly, to high performance controllers for disk array systems.The controllers incorporate on-board EEPROMs containing product data tofacilitate system configuration and testing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Computer storage systems for high capacity, on-line applications arewell known. Such systems use arrays of disk devices to provide a largestorage capacity. To alleviate the delays inherent in accessinginformation in the disk array, a large capacity system cache memory istypically utilized. Controllers known as back end directors or diskadaptors control transfer of data from the system cache memory to thedisk array and from the disk array to the system cache memory. Each backend director may control several disk devices, each typically comprisinga hard disk drive. Controllers known as front end directors or hostadaptors control transfer of data from the system cache memory to a hostcomputer and from the host computer to the system cache memory. A systemmay include one or more front end directors and one or more back enddirectors.

The front end directors and the back end directors perform all functionsassociated with transfer of data between the host computer and thesystem cache memory and between the system cache memory and the diskarray. The directors control cache read operations and executereplacement algorithms for replacing cache data in the event of a cachemiss. The directors control writing of data from the cache to the diskarray and may execute a prefetch algorithm for transferring data fromthe disk devices to the system cache memory in response to sequentialdata access patterns. The directors also execute diagnostic andmaintenance routines. In general, the directors incorporate a highdegree of intelligence.

Current computer storage systems are characterized by high performanceand high reliability. Nonetheless, as the performance of the hostcomputers which operate with the computer storage systems increases, itis necessary to provide computer storage systems having enhancedperformance. In particular, operating speeds must be increased as theoperating speeds of host computers increase. Furthermore, as the cost ofcomputer memory decreases and program complexity increases, the volumesof data transferred increase. Because computer storage systems arefrequently used in highly critical applications, reliability is animportant consideration. The storage systems must remain operational,even when certain components and subsystems fail. Accordingly, thestorage systems may incorporate redundant hardware and are extensivelytested. Because the performance of computer storage systems isdetermined to a significant degree by the performance of thecontrollers, there is a need for very high performance, high reliabilitycontrollers for computer storage systems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the invention, apparatus comprises aplurality of circuit boards and a backplane for mounting andinterconnecting the circuit boards. Each of the circuit boards haselectronic circuitry including a non-volatile memory containing productdata that identifies the respective circuit board and means for readingthe product data in the non-volatile memory and for controllingoperation of the electronic circuitry in response to the product data.

Preferably, the non-volatile memory comprises a read only memory. Morepreferably, the non-volatile memory comprises a serial EEPROM. Each ofthe circuit boards may further comprise means for providing externalaccess to the product data in the non-volatile memory through thebackplane. The product data may include one or more of a board partnumber, a board serial number, a board revision level, a cabinet serialnumber and text comments.

According to a second aspect of the invention, a computer storage systemcomprises an array of storage devices, a system cache memory, and aplurality of controller boards for controlling data transfer to andbetween the array of storage devices, the system cache memory and a hostcomputer. Each of the controller boards has electronic circuitryincluding a non-volatile memory containing product data that identifiesthe respective controller board and means for reading the product datain the non-volatile memory.

According to a third aspect of the invention, a method is provided foridentifying a circuit board. The method comprises the steps of placing anon-volatile memory device on the circuit board, storing product datathat identifies the circuit board in the non-volatile memory device, andreading the product data in the non-volatile memory device. Thenon-volatile memory device may comprise a serial EEPROM.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference is madeto the accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein by referenceand in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a computer storage system suitable forincorporation of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram of a director;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram that is representative of each processor shownin FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a hardware emulation feature of theinvention;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram that illustrates a memory control feature ofthe invention;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram that illustrates a power supply configurationthat incorporates features of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram that is representative of each of themarginable power supplies shown in FIG. 6;

FIGS. 8A and 8B are graphs that illustrate operation of the marginablepower supply shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram that is representative of each of thepower-up by-pass circuits shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 10 is a graph that illustrates the interrelation between supplyvoltages during power-up;

FIG. 11 illustrates examples of waveforms associated with operation ofthe power supply shown in FIG. 7 and the power-up bypass circuit shownin FIG. 9; and

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of a system clock configuration in accordancewith another aspect of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An example of a computer storage system suitable for incorporation ofthe present invention is shown in FIG. 1. A host computer 10 may beconnected to the storage system using one or more channels or buses 12,14, . . . 16. The channels for communication with host computer 10 canbe any suitable connection, such as a small computer system interface(SCSI), enterprise systems connection architecture (ESCON) or fiberchannel (FC).

The storage system includes one or more front end directors 20, 22, . .. 24, which are responsible for managing and translating read and writerequests from host computer 10 into one or more requests correspondingto how data is stored on physical disk drives in the storage system. Thefront end directors 20, 22, . . . 24 are connected via buses 30 and 32to a system cache memory 40. The system cache memory 40 may be a randomaccess memory having greater speed than the disk drives. If data beingread is temporarily stored in the cache, a read request can be fulfilledmore quickly by taking the data from system cache memory 40. Similarly,when writing data, the data to be written can be stored in system cachememory 40. System operation can proceed, while data is written from thesystem cache memory to the appropriate disk drive. The front enddirectors 20, 22, . . . 24 can be implemented in a number of ways,including a general purpose processor or a custom hardwareimplementation.

System cache memory 40 is coupled to disk drives 50, 52, . . . 54through a back end director 60. The storage system may include one ormore back end directors, each connected to one or more disk drives. Inthe example of FIG. 1, system cache memory 40 is coupled to disk drives70, 72, . . . 74 through a back end director 62 and is coupled to diskdrives 80, 82, . . . 84 through a back end director 64. Each back enddirector 60, 62, . . . 64 may be implemented using a general purposeprocessor or a custom hardware implementation. Each back end director60, 62, . . . 64 is connected to system cache memory 40 via buses 42 and44. Each of the buses 30, 32, 42 and 44 may be implemented, for example,as a 72 bit parallel bus. The system cache memory 40 may be a dual portrandom access memory. In one example, each back end director 60, 62, . .. 64 controls four disk drives, and the system may include up to 256disk drives. An example of a computer storage system having the generalconfiguration shown in FIG. 1 and described above is the Symmetrix model5700, manufactured and sold by EMC Corporation.

A block diagram of an example of a suitable director architecture isshown in FIG. 2. In one embodiment, the same architecture may be usedfor front end directors 20, 22, . . . 24 and back end directors 60, 62,. . . 64. The director includes data movers 110 and 112, each of whichconstitutes a high speed data path between the host computer 10 andsystem cache memory 40 in the case of a front end director or a highspeed data path between the disk array and the system cache memory 40 inthe case of a back end director. Data movers 110 and 112 arerespectively connected to data buses 30 and 32 (FIG. 1) or to data buses42 and 44 (FIG. 1). Data movers 110 and 112 contain data transfercircuitry.

Data mover 110 is controlled by an X processor 120, and data mover 112is controlled by a Y processor 122. The dual processor configurationprovides high throughput and high efficiency in the operation of thecomputer memory system. The processors 120 and 122 include privateresources required for high performance operation, such as local cachememory, a main memory, control circuitry and registers, as describedbelow. X processor 120 is coupled to data mover 110 by a private addressbus 124 and a private data bus 126. Y processor 122 is coupled to datamover 112 by a private address bus 130 and a private data bus 132.

The director also includes shared resources 140. Processors 120 and 122and shared resources 140 are interconnected by a shared address bus 160and a shared data bus 162. Shared resources 140 includes those resourceswhich are not critical to the performance of processors 120 and 122.Shared resources 140 may include a variety of control functions, such asnonvolatile storage of software execution logs and error logs,nonvolatile storage of software for processors 120 and 122, and one ormore connections to a local area network for diagnostic and maintenancepurposes. The director may also include a serial EEPROM 150 for storageof product data, as described below.

A block diagram of a processor, which is representative of X processor120, is shown in FIG. 3. Y processor 122 may have the sameconfiguration. A processor 200 includes a data bus 202 and a data paritybus 204 coupled to a control store memory 210 and a parity controller212. Processor 200 also includes an address bus 220 and an addressparity bus 222 coupled to a memory and emulation controller 224.Controller 224 includes a memory controller and a hardware emulationcontroller as discussed below. Address bus 220 is coupled throughdrivers 226 to a processor controller 230 (CPUCON) and is coupledthrough drivers 232 to an interrupt controller 240 (INTCON). Address bus220 also is coupled through drivers 232 and drivers 234 to sharedaddress bus 160 and is coupled through drivers 232 and drivers 236 toprivate address bus 124 (FIG. 2). Memory and emulation controller 224includes an address bus 242 coupled to control store memory 210, anaddress bus 244 coupled to processor controller 230 and a byte selectionbus 246 coupled to processor controller 230. Bus 246 also is coupledthrough drivers 248 to interrupt controller 240. A data bus 250 iscoupled to parity controller 212, processor controller 230 and interruptcontroller 240. Data bus 250 also is coupled through drivers 252 toshared data bus 162 and is coupled through drivers 254 to private databus 126 (FIG. 2). Processor 200 is coupled by an address bus 260, a databus 262 and a data parity bus 264 to a level 2 cache 270.

As shown in FIG. 3, control store memory 210 is configured to include aprimary data area 270, a secondary data area 272, a primary parity area274 and a secondary parity area 276. By way of example, primary dataarea 270 and secondary data area 272 may each have a capacity of 16megabytes and may utilize synchronous DRAM devices. Data bus 202 iscoupled to primary data area 270 and to secondary data area 272. Dataparity bus 204 is coupled to primary parity area 274 and to secondaryparity area 276. Address bus 242 is coupled to data areas 270 and 272and to parity areas 274 and 276.

By way of example, CPU 200 may comprise a Power PC 750 microprocessorwhich operates at 266 MHz and includes a 32 kilobyte level 1 cache.Level 2 cache 260 may have a capacity of 1 megabyte. Data bus 250 mayoperate at a speed of 33 MHz.

According to an aspect of the invention, the CPU block shown in FIG. 3may be configured with a hardware emulation controller as shown in FIG.4. Processor 200 is of a first processor type, such as a Power PCmicroprocessor, and system circuitry 300 is configured for operationwith a processor of a second processor type, such as a 68060microprocessor. This configuration may be utilized, for example, whereit is desirable to replace a current processor in an existing systemwith an new processor having enhanced performance, while retaining someor all of the existing system circuitry. The new processor enhances theoperation of the system, but does not require a complete systemredesign. In this situation, it is probable that certain signal linesfor the new processor, such as data lines, address lines and controllines, will differ from the signal lines of the current processor. Someof the signal lines may differ in operating characteristics, whereascertain signal lines in one processor may have no counterpart in theother processor.

In order to permit operation of the new processor with the existingsystem circuitry, an emulation controller 310 is utilized as shown inFIG. 4. Emulation controller 310 serves as an interface betweenprocessor 200 and system circuitry 300. A data bus 312, an address bus314 and control lines 316 are coupled between processor 200 andemulation controller 310. A data bus 322, an address bus 324 and controllines 326 are coupled between system circuitry 300 and emulationcontroller 310. It will be understood that some of the signals arebidirectional and others of the signals are uni-directional. In somecases, emulation controller 310 generates the necessary signals bytranslation or modification of signals received from processor 200 orsystem circuitry 300. In other cases, emulation controller 310 generatesnecessary signals by combining or dividing signals received fromprocessor 200 or system circuitry 300. In still other cases, the signalsrequire no modification.

The emulation controller 310 may be described with reference to aspecific example wherein processor 200 comprises a Power PC 750microprocessor, and system circuitry 300 is configured for operationwith a 68060 microprocessor. In the example shown in FIG. 3 anddescribed above, emulation controller 310 is incorporated into memoryand emulation controller 224, and system circuitry 300 includes thecircuitry below dashed line 330, as well as the circuitry shown in FIG.2 that is external to processors 120 and 122.

The emulation controller 310 makes the Power PC processor look like a68060 processor to system circuitry 300. In particular, the mostsignificant 12 bits of the address bus 312 of the Power PC are modifiedto satisfy 68060 addressing requirements. Modification of data lines isnot required in this example. With respect to control lines, the PowerPC Transaction Type signals TT0-4 are mapped to create Transaction Typesignals TT1-0 for the 68060 circuitry. Power PC Transfer Size signalsTSIZ0-2 and TBST are mapped to Size signals SIZ1-0 for the 68060circuitry. The Power PC Transfer Start signal TS does not requireconversion, but may be delayed before it is passed to the 68060circuitry. The 68060 Transfer In Progress signal TIP is created from thePower PC Transfer Acknowledge signal TA and Transfer Start signal TS.The Power PC Transfer Error signal TEA is generated from the 68060Transfer Error signal TEA and local errors, such as decode errors and68060 timing mismatches. The Power PC Transfer Acknowledge signal TA isgenerated from the 68060 Transfer Acknowledge signal TA, with a oneclock cycle delay. The 68060 Byte Select signals BS3-0 are generatedfrom the Power PC Address lines A29-31 and Transfer Size signalsTSIZ0-2. The read/write signal required by the 68060 circuitry isgenerated by decoding the Power PC Transfer Type signals TT0-4. ThePower PC Address Acknowledge signal AACK is generated by emulationcontroller 310, since the 68060 circuitry does not have this signal. Theemulation controller 310 also notifies the Power PC of errors using theTransfer Error signal TEA. Examples of errors include address parityerrors and RAM and I/O read/write parity errors.

Operation of control store memory 210 in accordance with another aspectof the invention is described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 5. Memorycontrol operations shown in FIG. 5 are performed by a memory controllerportion of the memory and emulation controller 224 shown in FIG. 3. Theconfiguration of FIG. 3 utilizes dual read and write operations toprovide extremely high reliability. As described above, control storememory 210 includes primary and secondary data areas 270 and 272, andprimary and secondary parity areas 274 and 276.

In a dual write mode, processor 200 in step 400 writes data words inboth primary data area 270 and secondary data area 272, and writescorresponding parity words in both primary parity area 274 and secondaryparity area 276. In the example of FIG. 3, memory 210 stores 32-bit datawords and utilizes byte parity. Thus, the parity words stored in primaryand secondary parity areas 274 and 276 are four bits each.

When a read request is received by controller 224 in step 402,controller 224 reads a data word from primary data area 270 and reads acorresponding parity word from primary parity area 274 in step 404.Controller 224 provides an appropriate address to control store memory210 on address bus 242. The parity of the accessed data word fromprimary data area 270 is checked by parity controller 212 against thecorresponding parity word from primary parity area 274 in step 404. If aprimary parity error is not detected (“good” parity) in step 406, theprocess proceeds to step 410, and the accessed data word from primarydata area 270 is supplied to processor 200. If a parity error isdetected in step 406, one or more status bits indicative of the parityerror are stored in a status register in step 412. Controller 224 thenreads the requested data word from secondary data area 272 and reads thecorresponding parity word from secondary parity area 276 in step 414.The parity of the data word accessed in secondary data area 272 ischecked by parity controller 212 against the corresponding parity wordfrom secondary parity area 276 in step 414. If a secondary parity erroris not detected in step 416, the process proceeds to step 410, and theaccessed data word is supplied to processor 200. If a secondary parityerror is detected in step 416, one or more status bits indicative of theparity error are stored in the status register in step 420, and anexception is generated. The exception causes the processor to stopexecuting the current instructions and to execute a service routine.Following the read request by processor 200 in step 402, the reading ofdata from primary data area 270 and, if necessary, from secondary dataarea 272 is controlled by controller 224 without intervention by ornotification of processor 200.

An additional aspect of the invention is described with reference toFIGS. 6-8B. As described above, it is essential to provide highreliability in computer storage systems. Accordingly, it is customary totest such systems over a range of operating supply voltages andoperating temperatures. During such tests, supply voltages may beadjusted to their worst case limits, and proper operation of the systemis verified. Digital components of computer memory systems of the typedescribed above typically require a 5 volt DC power supply. Specificcomponents may require additional DC voltages. For example, where theprocessor 200 shown in FIG. 3 is implemented as a Power PCmicroprocessor, DC supply voltages of 3.3 volts and 2.6 volts arerequired. In addition to normal operating limits placed on the voltages,certain limits on the individual supply voltages and on the differencebetween supply voltages must be observed at all times, including duringpower-up. Failure to meet these requirements may result in destructionof the microprocessor.

A block diagram of a power supply system suitable for meeting theserequirements is shown in FIG. 6. A main power supply 500 supplies a 5volt DC supply voltage to each of the directors and to the system cachememory (see FIG. 1). The disk array system is typically implemented as aplurality of printed circuit boards mounted in a backplane. Eachdirector may be packaged as a printed circuit board. The backplaneprovides interconnections between the directors, the system cachememory, the host computer and the disk array. The main power supply 500is typically located external to the backplane and supplies a voltageVCC to each of the director boards.

As shown in FIG. 6, a marginable 3.3 volt power supply 510, a 3.3 voltpower-up bypass circuit 512, a marginable 2.6 volt power supply 520 anda 2.6 volt power-up by-pass circuit 522 are located on each of thedirector boards. The 3.3 volt power-up bypass circuit 512 is connectedin parallel with the 3.3 volt power supply 510, and the 2.6 voltpower-up bypass circuit 522 is connected in parallel with the 2.6 voltpower supply 520. Power-up bypass circuits 512 and 522 operate duringthe transient period when power is being turned on. During normaloperation, 3.3 volt power supply 510 receives a 5 volt DC supply voltageVCC from main power supply 500 and outputs a 3.3 volt DC supply voltageV33. The 2.6 volt power supply 520 receives supply voltage VCC from mainpower supply 500 and outputs a 2.6 volt DC supply voltage V26.

The output voltage of main power supply 500 may be adjusted betweenprescribed limits during system test. In particular, supply voltage VCCmay be varied within a range of 5 volts±10%. It is also desirable tovary simultaneously and proportionally the voltage V33 output by powersupply 510 and the voltage V26 output by power supply 520 withinprescribed limits in order to achieve complete testing of the system.The variation of V26 and V33 may be executed automatically, withoutrequiring additional control signals.

A simplified schematic diagram of marginable 2.6 volt power supply 520is shown in FIG. 7. A DC—DC converter 530 converts the 5 volt supplyvoltage VCC to 2.6 volt supply voltage V26. The converter 530 includes atrim input which permits output voltage V26 to be adjusted. In typicalprior art applications, a fixed resistor is attached to the trim input,and converter 530 maintains a fixed output voltage V26 when the inputsupply voltage VCC varies within prescribed limits. The circuit of FIG.7 permits the 2.6 volt supply voltage V26 to be varied when supplyvoltage VCC is varied. Furthermore, the range of variation of supplyvoltage V26 may be different from the range of variation of supplyvoltage VCC.

A resistor 524 and a capacitor 526 are connected in series betweensupply voltage VCC and ground. The junction between resistor 524 andcapacitor 526 is connected to an enable input of DC—DC converter 530.This arrangement causes the operation of DC—DC converter 530 duringpower-up to be delayed relative to the rise of supply voltage VCC, asdescribed below.

Supply voltage VCC is input through a voltage divider includingresistors 532 and 534 to the inverting input of an operational amplifier540. Supply voltage VCC is also input to a voltage reference generator542 which outputs a fixed reference voltage VREF, such as 4.5 volts. Thereference voltage VREF is input through a voltage divider includingresistors 544 and 546 to the non-inverting input of operationalamplifier 540. A feedback resistor 548 is coupled between the output andthe inverting input of operational amplifier 540. The output ofoperational amplifier is connected through a resistor 550 to the triminput of DC—DC converter 530.

Operation of the circuit of FIG. 7 is described with reference to FIGS.8A and 8B. FIG. 8A is a graph of trim voltage at the trim input ofconverter 530 as a function of supply voltage VCC. FIG. 8B is a graph ofthe supply voltage V26 output by converter 530 as a function of supplyvoltage VCC. Referring again to FIG. 7, supply voltage VCC is comparedwith reference voltage VREF by the comparator circuit includingoperational amplifier 540. The circuit values are selected such thatwhen supply voltage VCC is 5.0 volts, the trim voltage produces anoutput supply voltage V26 of 2.6 volts. As supply voltage VCC increasesfrom 5.0 volts toward 5.5 volts, the trim voltage decreases, as shown inFIG. 8A, causing the output supply voltage V26 to increase, as shown inFIG. 8B. Conversely, as supply voltage VCC decreases from 5.0 voltstoward 4.5 volts, the trim voltage increases, causing the output supplyvoltage V26 to decrease.

It may be observed that the percentage change in output supply voltageV26 differs from the percentage change in the input supply voltage VCC.In the example of FIGS. 8A and 8B, supply voltage VCC changes by ±10%,whereas output supply voltage V26 changes by ±100 millivolts. It will beunderstood that the change in output supply voltage V26 relative to thechange in supply voltage VCC is a function of the gain of theoperational amplifier circuit that supplies the trim voltage toconverter 530 and can be increased or decreased by adjusting the circuitgain.

The 3.3 volt power supply 510 shown in FIG. 6 may have the sameconfiguration as power supply 520 of FIG. 7, with appropriate changes tocircuit values to obtain output supply voltage V33 of 3.3 volts+5% whenthe input supply voltage VCC is 5.0 volts±10%.

The power supply shown in FIG. 7 and described above provides thecapability of onboard margining of supply voltages with a singleexternal supply voltage. The range of each output supply voltage can bethe same or different from the range of the input supply voltage. Thisconfiguration simplifies system tests, since a single system powersupply voltage can be varied, with other supply voltages automaticallyvarying within prescribed ranges.

The power-up bypass circuits 512 and 522 are described with reference toFIGS. 9, 10 and 11. A schematic diagram of power-up bypass circuit 522is shown in FIG. 9. FIG. 10 illustrates the requirements placed on thesupply voltages by bypass circuits 512 and 522 during power-up. FIG. 11illustrates examples of waveforms associated with operation of powersupply 520 and bypass circuit 522. Referring to FIG. 9, power-up bypasscircuit 522 includes an upper FET 600 and a lower FET 602 connected inseries between 5 volt supply voltage VCC and 2.6 volt supply voltageV26. Two FETs are used to provide redundancy. During normal operation,FETs 600 and 602 are turned off, and supply voltage VCC is isolated fromsupply voltage V26. During power-up, FETs 600 and 602 are turned on byan amount sufficient to control supply voltage V26, as described below.A fuse 604, connected in series with FETs 600 and 602, preventsexcessive current from being drawn through FETs 600 and 602.

During power-up, the power supply voltages increase from zero volts totheir respective final values. However, the timing of each voltage maybe different, depending on the respective loads and other factors.Accordingly, conditions may occur which would damage sensitive circuits,such as processor 200 (FIG. 3). In particular, the Power PCmicroprocessor requires the quantity (V33−V26) to be less than or equalto 1.2 volts and greater than −0.4 volts at all times, including thetransient conditions that occur during power-up. In FIG. 10, waveform570 represents supply voltage VCC, waveform 572 represents supplyvoltage V33 and waveform 574 represents supply voltage V26 duringpower-up. At all times during power-up and normal operation, adifference 576 between supply voltage V33 and supply voltage V26(V33−V26) must be less than 1.2 volts and must be less than −0.4 voltfor proper operation of the Power PC microprocessor. In the exampleshown in FIG. 9, power-up bypass circuit 522 is more restrictive andrequires that the quantity (V33−V26) be less than 1.2 volts duringpower-up. An additional requirement related to operation of sensitivedigital circuitry is that a difference 578 between supply voltage VCCand supply voltage V33 (VCC-V33) be less than 4 volts during power-up.The power-up bypass circuit 512 ensures that this requirement is met

Power-up bypass circuit 522 shown in FIG. 9 controls supply voltage V26in response to the quantity (V33−V26) during power-up. The 3.3 voltsupply voltage V33 is input through a resistive divider includingresistors 610 and 612 to the non-inverting input of an operationalamplifier 614. The 2.6 volt supply voltage V26 is input throughresistors 616 and 618 to the inverting input of operational amplifier614, which operates as a differential amplifier having a gain of about6.5. A feedback resistor 620 is coupled between the output and theinverting input of operational amplifier 614. The output of operationalamplifier 614 is coupled through a resistor 624 to the gate of FET 600and is coupled through a resistor 626 to the gate of FET 602. FETs 600and 602 are controlled during power-up by the voltage at the output ofoperational amplifier 614 and operate in a linear portion of theircharacteristic. Thus, operational amplifier 614 and FETs 600 and 602constitute a servo loop for controlling supply voltage V26. An errorvoltage at the output of operational amplifier 614 is proportional tothe quantity (V33−V26).

The power-up bypass circuit 522 further includes a reset circuit 630having an output coupled through a resistor 632 and a transistor 634 tothe gate of FET 600. A reset circuit 640 has an output coupled through aresistor 642 and a transistor 644 to the gate of FET 602. Reset circuits630 and 640 provide reset pulses, which are initiated at turn-on andwhich may have pulse widths of about 800 milliseconds, during power-up.The pulses turn off transistors 634 and 644, thereby enabling operationof the servo loop described above. During normal operation followingtimeout of the reset pulses, reset circuits 630 and 640 turn ontransistors 634 and 644, respectively, thereby turning FETs 600 and 602off and inhibiting operation of the servo loop. Transistors 634 and 644hold FETs 600 and 602 off during normal operation, even if operationalamplifier 614 fails high. Reset circuits 630 and 640 receive testsignals 636 and 646 as described below. The test signals 636 and 646 aresupplied by other logic on the controller board and are set low duringdiagnostic testing for purposes of verifying operation of the power-upbypass circuit. Test signals 636 and 646 additionally are coupled tooperational amplifier 614 via diodes 638 and 648 to enable operationalamplifier 614 to supply a signal sufficient to turn on FET 600 or 602.

FIG. 11 is a timing diagram that illustrates the operation of thepower-up by-pass circuit 522 and illustrates the relationship betweenpower-up bypass circuit 522 and power supply 520. During a portion ofthe power-up period, DC—DC converter 530 (FIG. 7) is inhibited. As shownin FIG. 11, supply voltage VCC increases following turn-on from 0 voltsto 5 volts according to a waveform 700. The converter enable input, asindicated by waveform 702, increases until a threshold value 704 isreached. After threshold 704 is crossed, DC—DC converter 530 is enabled,as indicated by waveform 710. The power-up characteristic of supplyvoltage V26 is indicated by waveform 712. Prior to the time when DC—DCconverter 530 is enabled, bypass circuit 522 controls supply voltageV26. In particular, reset circuits 630 and 640 provide reset pulses,indicated by waveform 714, which enable the operation of the servo loopincluding operational amplifier 614 and FETs 600 and 602. Operationalamplifier 614 outputs an error voltage, proportional to the quantity(V33−V26), which turns on FETs 600 and 602 and causes supply voltage V26to increase to a value V1, typically in the range of about 1 to 2 volts.Following a delay 720 after DC—DC converter 530 is enabled, DC—DCconverter 530 begins operation and outputs a current 126, indicated bywaveform 724. In addition, DC—DC converter 530 causes supply voltage V26to increase from voltage V1 to its nominal value of 2.6 volts (waveform712). After timeout of the reset pulses, indicated by waveform 714, FETs600 and 602 are turned off by transistors 634 and 644, respectively, andbypass circuit 522 is inhibited.

Power-up bypass circuit 522 further includes a shorted FET detectioncircuit 650 for detecting if one of FETs 600 and 602 is shorted. A node652 between FET 600 and 602 has a nominal voltage of 3.6 volts when FETs600 and 602 are turned off. Detection circuit 650 includes comparators660 and 662. Node 652 is connected to the non-inverting input ofcomparator 660 and to the inverting input of comparator 662. A 3 voltreference voltage is coupled to the inverting input of comparator 660,and a 4.5 volt reference voltage is coupled to the non-inverting inputof comparator 662. If the voltage at node 652 drops below the referencevoltage at the inverting input of comparator 660, the output ofcomparator 660 switches to an active state, which indicates that FET 602is shorted. If the voltage at node 652 exceeds the reference voltage atthe non-inverting input of comparator 662, the output of comparator 662switches to an active state which indicates that FET 600 is shorted.Thus, the outputs of comparators 660 and 662 provide indications as tothe operational state of the power-up bypass circuit 522.

Power-up bypass circuit 522 may be tested by application of test signal636 or 646. When a test signal 636 is applied, reset circuit 630 iscaused to output a reset pulse, thereby turning off transistor 634 andenabling FET 600. The test signal 636 supplied through diode 638 causesthe output of operational amplifier 614 to increase and to turn on FET600. The turn on of FET 600 is sensed by comparator 662 which providesan output signal indicating that FET 600 is shorted. Similarly, testsignal 646 causes transistor 644 to turn off and FET 602 to turn on, andcomparator 660 provides an output signal indicating that FET 602 isshorted. The test signals 636 and 646 thereby verify operation of thereset circuits 630 and 640, the servo loop including operationalamplifier 614 and FETs 600 and 602, and detection circuits 650.

Power-up bypass circuit 512 may contain circuitry that is similar to thecircuitry of bypass circuit 522 shown in FIG. 9 and described above.However, the dual FETs in the power-up bypass circuit 512 are controlledby a circuit which compares supply voltage VCC with the 3.3 volt supplyvoltage V33. The FETs and supply voltage V33 are controlled in responseto the quantity (VCC−V33). In addition, the reference voltages used inthe shorted FET detection circuit are changed to correspond to the 3.3volt output of the bypass circuit.

A block diagram of a system clock configuration in accordance with afurther aspect of the invention is shown in FIG. 12. As described above,a computer memory system typically includes a plurality of directorboards interconnected through a backplane, and each director boardincludes dual processors. Among the functions performed by theprocessors on each director board are record keeping, time stamping ofevents, and the like, which require a clock. It is desirable that alldirector boards operate in synchronism, so that time stamping and thelike are consistent throughout the system. Such 8 system clock should behighly reliable and should preferably incorporate redundancy.

Referring again to FIG. 12, each director board is provided with asystem clock circuit 700. System clock circuit 700 is coupled to similarcircuits on other director boards through backplane connections,including a primary clock line 702, designated BSYS_CLK0, a secondaryclock line 704, designated BSYS_CLK1, and a clock select line 706,designated BSYSCKL_SEL. Primary clock line 702 carries a primary, ormaster, clock signal that is distributed to all of the director boards.Secondary clock line 704 carries a secondary, or slave, clock signalthat is distributed to all the director boards. The primary andsecondary clocks are generated independently. The clock select line 706is distributed to all of the director boards and causes each of thedirector boards to select one of the clock lines as the system clock,unless both clocks are inoperative as described below.

The system clock circuit 700 on each of the director boards includes aregister 710 containing bits which control the operation of the clockcircuit 700. The bits are set by one of the processors 120 or 122 (FIG.2) on the director board in accordance with an initialization protocol.Those bits includes a primary clock enable bit 712, a secondary clockenable bit 714, a clock select bit 716 and a select external bit 718.System clock circuit 700 further includes a clock 730, which may operateat 1 MHz, having outputs connected to a gate 732, a gate 734 and a firstinput of a selector 736. Gates 732 and 734 are controlled by the primaryclock enable bit 712 and the secondary clock enable bit 714,respectively. Selector 736 is controlled by the select external bit 718.The clock select bit 716 is coupled through a driver 740 to the clockselect line 706 on the backplane.

Primary clock line 702 on the backplane is connected through a driver750 to a first input of a selector 752, and secondary clock line 704 iscoupled through a driver 754 to a second input of selector 752. Clockselect line 706 on the backplane is coupled through a driver 756 to theselect input of selector 752. The output of selector 752 is connected toa second input of selector 736. The output of selector 736 is coupled tothe count input of a counter 760.

In operation, the register 710 in each of the director boards isinitialized by initialization software executed by one of the processorson the director board. One of the director boards is selected togenerate the primary system clock, and another of the director boards isdesignated to generate the secondary system clock. The selection may bepredefined. Each director may be assigned an ID in the system. Forexample, the director having ID 0 may generate the primary system clock,and the director having ID 1 may generate the secondary system clock. Inthe director that is selected to generate the primary system clock, theprimary clock enable bit 712 is set, and the secondary clock enable bit714 is reset. In the director that is selected to generate the secondarysystem clock, the secondary clock enable bit 714 is set, and primaryclock enable bit 712 is reset. Thus, the primary clock is suppliedthrough gate 732 in one director to primary clock line 702, and thesecondary clock is supplied through gate 734 in another director tosecondary clock line 704. The primary and secondary clock enable bits712 and 714 are reset in all other directors. The primary and secondaryclock signals are supplied to each of the director boards throughdrivers 750 and 754, respectively. The clock select bit 716 normallyindicates the primary clock and is supplied to each of the directorboards through driver 756.

The select external bit normally specifies the external clock (fromprimary clock line 702 or secondary clock line 704) and is supplied toselector 736. In normal operation, the primary clock is selected as thesystem clock and is supplied through driver 750, selector 752 andselector 736 to counter 760 in each of the director boards. Counter 760may be used for a variety of functions related to timekeeping and thelike. Counter 760 may be coupled to a clock detection circuit 762. Forexample, where a predetermined number of clock pulses are missing, itmay be determined that the primary clock is malfunctioning. In thisinstance, the clock detection circuit 762 causes the clock select bit716 to switch state, and the % secondary clock is selected as the systemclock. The secondary clock is coupled through driver 754, selector 752and selector 736 to counter 760 in each of the director boards. Thus,the system remains in synchronism even when the primary clockmalfunctions and the secondary clock is selected as the system clock.

In the same manner, the clock detection circuit may detect that apredetermined number of secondary clock pulses are missing. In thatcase, both the primary clock and the secondary clock are malfunctioning,and the clock detection circuit 762 causes the select external bit 718to change state. Selector 736 now selects the output of internal clock730 and supplies the internal clock to counter 760. The other directorssimilarly detect that the primary clock and secondary clock aremalfunctioning and switch to their respective internal clocks. In thiscase, the system continues to function, but timekeeping operations arenot synchronized.

In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, each directorboard may incorporate a non-volatile memory which stores product datathat uniquely identifies the director board. Referring again to FIG. 2,each director may include a non-volatile memory in the form of a serialelectrically-erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) 150 whichis part of the shared resources of the director. The serial EEPROM 150may have a capacity of 4 k bytes and may utilize a device that iscommercially available from SGS Thomson. Product data stored in theserial EEPROM 150 may include a board part number, a board serialnumber, a board revision level, a cabinet serial number and textcomments. It will be understood that more or less product data may beutilized, depending on the application. The product data may be readfrom serial EEPROM 150 by processors 120 and 122 and may be externallyaccessed for testing and other purposes. The on-board serial EEPROM 150is advantageous because product data is stored with the product itselfrather than in a host computer or other storage location.

Different aspects of the invention have been described above inconnection with a computer storage system. The various aspects of theinvention may be used separately or in combination, as required by aparticular application. Furthermore, the various aspects of theinvention are not limited in their application to computer storagesystems, but may be utilized generally.

While there have been shown and described what are at present consideredthe preferred embodiments of the present invention, it will be obviousto those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications maybe made therein without departing from the scope of the invention asdefined by the appended claims.

1. A computer storage system comprising: an array of storage devices; asystem cache memory; and a plurality of controller boards forcontrolling data transfer to and between said array of storage devices,said system cache memory and a host computer, each of said controllerboards having electronic circuitry including a non-volatile memorycontaining product data that identifies the respective controller boardand means for reading the product data in said non-volatile memory.
 2. Acomputer storage system as defined in claim 1 wherein said non-volatilememory comprises a read-only memory.
 3. A computer storage system asdefined in claim 1 wherein said non-volatile memory comprises a serialEEPROM.
 4. A computer storage system as defined in claim 1 furthercomprising a backplane for mounting and interconnecting said controllerboards, wherein each of said controller boards further comprises meansfor providing external access to the product data in said non-volatilememory through said backplane.
 5. A computer storage system as definedin claim 1 wherein said product data includes one or more of a boardpart number, a board serial number, a board revision level, a cabinetserial number and text comments.
 6. A computer storage system as definedin claim 1, wherein said storage devices comprise disk drives.